Burning Bridges
by EternalBreaker
Summary: Modern AU. Elsanna (not related). They've known each other all their lives. Living next door to each other, going to the same school, growing up together... Naturally, they became the best of friends and even more... But there's something about Elsa that even she doesn't know. Will it tear them apart? Will they hate one another? Will their love be put to the test?
1. Something New

**A/N: Hi, this is my first fic. I'm new to all of this so bear with me, please! I can't promise weekly updates or whether or not my chapters will be of consistent length, but I will try my best to satisfy your Elsanna needs to the best of my ability. :) I do not own Frozen. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Something New**

* * *

Anna was always full of life and energy. At the tender age of sixteen, she was going to graduate with the senior class and go off to college with her best friends. Anna sported strawberry blonde pigtails as fiery as her rambunctious personality with a single platinum blonde streak, and turquoise blue eyes full of wonder and curiosity. She had freckles from her rosy cheeks all the way down to her shoulders! She was strong-willed, determined to do whatever it took to protect the ones she loves, and animated enough for the both of you. Her vigor and spirit were irreplaceable and that's what made her so loveable. The positive energy radiating off of her could turn anyone's bad day upside down. And here she was, waiting at the airport with her friends.

"Anna, look!" her friend Olaf exclaimed and pointed in front of them. Her gaze fell upon the beautiful woman heading in her direction.

She had ocean blue eyes. There was no other color that could take Anna's breath away. It could've been due to the fact that they belonged to a platinum-haired goddess that she luckily called her own best friend. But it was still a stunning color nonetheless. It was like the ocean—the universe—resided in her irises and she definitely owned it. And her hair... _her hair_, Gods, did Anna love it. It's not every day you see someone with a long, thick braid of delicate platinum blonde hair swept over their left shoulder and bangs slicked back with a small part resting atop the forehead. There were so many things to love about her. Her skin was porcelain and fair. She had a bodacious body and Anna could confirm that with brazen assurance despite the odd stares of strangers and, at times, friends. She had a light dusting of freckles on her cheeks, similar to Anna, though not as prominent. Just who was she?

"Elsa!"

A friendly smile crept upon the blonde's face as she turned to the strawberry blonde girl. "Hello, Anna."

Anna, flushed from the lack of breath during her sprint, hugged her favorite person in the world. "I missed you, Elsa Winters."

"It's only been a week, dork." Elsa leaned down so that her eyes were leveled with Anna's and lightly flicked her forehead. "I missed you, too."

"Hey! That's not nice." Anna pouted, her turquoise blue eyes staring intently into ocean blue eyes.

The older girl laughed and pressed a chaste kiss on the redhead's forehead. "Better?"

"Nope." Anna drawled and crossed her arms.

"You're greedy, Ms. Summers. You're lucky that I have a thing for redheads." Elsa cupped Anna's face and gave her a full kiss on the lips she missed _oh so much_ before nuzzling her lover's neck.

"The only redhead you're allowed to have a thing for is me!" Anna growled as she gave the blonde another passionate kiss.

Someone cleared their throat loudly to clearly snap the girls out of their intimacy. It was Kristoff. He was always a partypooper.

"Of course I haven't forgotten about you, Mr. Bjorgman." Elsa grinned, nodding at Kristoff and Olaf respectively and embracing them in a group hug. "And you, Mr. Kollsvein."

"Elsa gives the best hugs!" Olaf asserted.

"No doubt here." Anna and Kristoff agreed in unison. Despite the cold nature of her skin, Elsa's embraces gave off a warmth that made you addicted, leaving you craving for more.

* * *

Elsa had just returned from a week spent with her family in Norway for jul—Christmas season—as per tradition. They weren't her real family though. Well, not biological. Elsa was adopted as a baby.

Her foster parents, Agdar and Idunn, were wonderful people, truly, but she always felt like she didn't belong, even with repeated assurances that they would always love her no matter what. Thankfully, she was neighbors with a spunky redhead that was always there from the beginning. Elsa loved her family, but they could never provide her with what Anna provided her: a genuine sense of belonging. She never had to question her position with Anna around. The same could be said for Anna because Elsa had changed her too.

Given her personality, it would be assumed that Anna always had a perfect life. But she had nobody when she first started school. Kids actually made fun of her at school and whenever they passed by her house. She would play outside on her front yard alone and cry to herself whenever some bully called out to her.

* * *

One day when a boy was standing mere inches from Anna and told her that nobody liked her, Elsa happened to be at the right place at the right time. Normally, she wouldn't have batted an eye because of her bashful, introverted nature, but seeing the younger girl quivering in front of her set off an internal fire.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" Elsa snapped at the boy.

He flinched, unaware that someone else was around, and ran away.

Anna looked up at her savior, shocked that the quiet girl from next door had defended her.

"Are you okay?" The younger girl nodded, unable to form coherent words just yet. "He's gone now. My name is Elsa. What's your name?" Elsa bent down to observe the girl better.

"A-Anna."

"Nice to meet you, Anna." Elsa smiled and stuck her hand out. Anna stared at Elsa in disbelief as she took her hand.

"T-Thank y-you..." she sniffed.

"Let's be friends, okay?" Elsa said with a gleam in her eyes and a new confidence that she never had before.

"Okay." They both smiled as they each made their first friend.

* * *

Elsa was never braver than she was in that moment. Something about that day sparked something inside of Anna to stand up for herself if anyone ever bothered her again. Her new self-confidence completely changed her, or rather Elsa's rescue did. She was able to befriend others because she had a new spirit that ignited within her and it showed. However, Elsa fell back into her sheltered life with Anna as her only friend. She would occasionally protect Anna before Anna was able to fight her own battles but she never seemed to be able to do the same for herself. Elsa had her fair amount of bullying but she always ignored them, lacking the motivation or courage to speak up. Lucky for her, she had a best friend who was willing to do anything for her that she herself wouldn't hesitate to do for the other girl.

Elsa's single act of confidence was all too short-lived for some unexplainable reason but it gave Anna the push she needed to become the fire she was now, to give Elsa faith in herself, and to have all the love she could ever ask for.


	2. Liquid Nightmares

**Chapter 2: Liquid Nightmares**

* * *

_A tiny baby with platinum blonde hair was steadying her hands on the ground while trying her hardest to push her body up as she stood on her feet. _

_"__Look, darling! She's walking!" A woman with platinum blonde hair exclaimed to her husband. She watched as a baby waddled towards them._

_The baby smiled, showing her tiny, pearly whites. She soon fell abruptly and began to sniffle, crying for her parents._

_"__Ina, you know she can't stay..." The woman known as Ina shot her head up and glared back at her husband with tears in her eyes._

_"__She's our daughter, Lawrence!"_

_"__And she always will be... But it's not safe to keep her here. You saw what happened to Anna. They'll come after Elsa if they find out and we can't let that happen." Lawrence sighed deeply._

_Two dark figures emerged from the shadows—a woman and a man. The woman was holding a red-haired baby with a single streak of white shown on the right side of her head._

_The other man spoke, "Lawrence is right. Neither of our children are safe here so we have to take them somewhere where they can never be found..."_

_"__I know who can help us. They are my good friends, the Winters. They'll take Elsa and raise her as their own." Lawrence licked his trembling lips as he felt warm liquid trickling down his cheek. _

_He picked Elsa up and gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I love you so much, sweetheart. One day, I swear we can be together again." He looked to his wife and the other couple. "It's time to go." _

* * *

Elsa shot up, gasping loudly enough to shake Anna from her slumber.

"Elsa? Are you okay?" Anna yawned, groggily rubbing her eyes. Elsa gasped again and whipped her head so fast that she became momentarily dizzy.

She wasn't sure what she just dreamed of, but it felt like a sick joke. She often had bad dreams of mysterious cloaked figures telling her she never belonged there, but it was mostly her inner thoughts fighting her. This was the first time she ever had a dream that involved her birth parents. She didn't actually have any recollections of her birth parents, but the fact that she dreamed about them anyway was enough to bother her.

"I-I dreamed about my b-birth parents." Elsa croaked. Anna's eyes widened at the return of her stutter and—of course—the shocking topic of her dream. They had never talked about her birth parents.

"_What?_ What happened?" Anna implored.

"I-I don't know... I was walking for the f-first time and they said that it wasn't s-s-safe for me to be there." Elsa said as her body shook and her pupils dilated when she realized something. "A-And they mentioned you! Anna, I saw you..."

They both looked down at the sheets and furrowed their brows, speechless about the aforementioned dream. Anna kept opening her mouth to say something, but what? She didn't know what to think of the dream because it was just a dream, right? But why did she feel so strange about it?

"It's just a dream, Elsa." Anna finally spoke. "Did something happen during your trip to possibly trigger this?"

Elsa shook her head. "No, everything was fine with my f-family. There was just a lot more r-rain than usual..."

Anna winced. Rain was one of Elsa's fears, if not the greatest one. She never knew why, but any time it rained, it pained her like no other. Actually, most forms of water frightened Elsa. She was okay with drinking it and bathing in it because it was necessary, but she still struggled to deal with it from time to time.

Anna stroked Elsa's hair and kissed her on the forehead. "It's okay. You're home now and you won't have to deal with rain here. You still have to shower and keep hydrated though!" Elsa smiled. True, she couldn't escape _those_, but she was thankful for the lack of precipitation in Los Angeles. The cold never bothered her but getting _wet _did.

"I love you."

"I love you too, my very **_hot _**girlfriend." Anna proclaimed, feeling Elsa's smile on her lips.

"Now let's get some sleep." Elsa nodded as Anna wrapped her arms around her and got into a comfortable position.

Anna fell asleep shortly after, lightning snoring into Elsa's ears. Elsa giggled. Anna was always more susceptible to turn in, while Elsa pondered her thoughts throughout the late hours. _How on earth did I get so lucky, _she thought as she remembered the early days of their friendship.

* * *

**11 years ago**

_"__Hi, Elsa!" Anna shouted when she saw her neighbor on the front porch. Elsa meekly smiled and waved at Anna before turning away. Anna thought that was weird. Elsa seemed distant despite her enthusiastic proposal yesterday. She sighed and then squealed when a short redhead was standing right in front of her._

_"__Where did... How did you...?"_

_"__Here." Anna said and put her hand out. Elsa looked down to discover a chocolate bar. She __**loved**__ chocolate. _

_"__Thank you. I love chocolate." Elsa smiled as she took the offering._

_"__Me too! It's the best!" They both giggled. _

_"__I just wanted to give you something for helping me yesterday." Anna continued._

_"__Oh, it was nothing..." Elsa said while rubbing her hands together._

_"__It was everything to me. Well, I have to go home now. Bye, Elsa." Anna beamed as she sauntered down the steps. _

_Elsa stared as Anna's back came into view, wondering what was so special about this redhead that made her speak up yesterday when she couldn't even talk to her now. All she could think about was how beautiful Anna's twin braids were. The red hair was so mesmerizing to Elsa and she couldn't fathom why it intrigued her so much. It's not like she never saw the color before. It was actually her favorite color in spite of her wardrobe consisting of only blue things. But the most intriguing thing about Anna's hair was the single white streak. It was similar to her own hair, but how could someone be born with a random streak of hair? Something about it was just... __**off. **__She shrugged and went inside of her home, occasionally thinking about the younger girl. _

_It was Friday, which meant the weekend was here and Elsa would have to be home the whole day—she dreaded it. She didn't hate her home... She just didn't feel like she belonged. At least she was able to occupy herself with her studies and lectures at school. She didn't have any friends. She never bothered to make any—other than her bold decision to befriend Anna. She noticed Anna at school sometimes before that and they **were** neighbors; it's not like she couldn't __**ever**__ notice her. But she never wanted anything to do with Anna until she witnessed that boy picking on her. Maybe it was because Elsa felt obligated to help someone who seemed so helpless since she never saw anyone needing her help. It still didn't make sense why she cared about a random stranger when she could hardly even love her own parents. Well, foster parents. Or had she been thinking about her birth parents?_

_Neither Agdar nor Idunn possessed platinum blonde hair so Elsa, with her curious nature, questioned them when she was about five. She had no memories of the first couple of years of her life but never had a clue because she was suddenly adopted as soon as the couple found her on their steps, or at least that's what their story was. She believed them but she felt that her biological parents didn't want her so why would anyone else? It broke their hearts to see their young child so distressed._

_Elsa sighed as the inevitable approached. _

_She spent an agonizing weekend going places with her mom and dad_—_hardly entertaining. But what struck her with fear was the dream she ended up having on the first day. She dreamed of Anna and herself in the same situation that she found Anna and the boy in—only this time, the positions were reversed and Elsa was the victim. _

_"__Nobody likes you, Elsa. Nobody wants you." Anna smiled sadistically as she inched closer to Elsa and nudged her chest. "Why are you still here? You're a monster."_

_"__No... no... no!" Elsa screamed and ran away. She found herself in an alleyway with mysterious cloaked figures and tried to turn around but backed up into one of them._

_"__She's right, Elsa. You don't belong here," the figure said._

_"__Leave me alone!" Elsa begged as she slumped against a wall and cradled her arms on her knees, feeling surrender. "Please..."_

_"__It's not that easy..." She saw a devilish grin and before she could register what happened next, someone dumped a bucket of water over her._

_The shock of being drenched woke her up with a scream. She felt all over her body to make sure she wasn't wet and hyperventilated. She started to weep in the same position she was in inside of her dream, hoping to the gods that her parents didn't hear her scream. Her prayer was answered as nobody came rushing into her room. The most painful part of it all was the fact that Anna had said those hurtful things._

_When Elsa saw Anna on the following Monday, she didn't smile. Anna frowned and called out to her, but Elsa continued to ignore her. Growing annoyed of the silent treatment, Anna rushed over to Elsa's front porch._

_"__Hey! What's the big idea?" Anna huffed._

_"__Go away, Anna." Elsa rolled her eyes and looked away from the redhead._

_"__No. Why won't you talk to me?" She demanded._

_"__Because nobody likes me!" Elsa snapped as tears glided out of her blue eyes._

_"__I do."_

_"__No, you don't."_

_"__Hey! You're my friend. I do like you." Anna said impatiently, and grabbed Elsa's hands._

_"__Why?" Elsa looked up at Anna with angry eyes. "I'm a monster!"_

_"__You're not a monster! You're my friend!"_

_"__You called me a monster in my dream!"_

_"__I would never say that, Elsa. Please believe me." Anna stared back with tears building up in her own eyes. _

_Elsa looked at Anna and felt guilty for making the younger girl cry. Of course she wouldn't say that. It was just a dream. What was she thinking, yelling at her only friend, which she still had no idea how she even managed to get. _

_"__I'm sorry, Anna."_

_"__It's okay. You are __**not**__ a monster. We're always going to be friends, Elsa. I promise." Anna smiled._

* * *

Elsa wiped away the tears that trickled down her cheeks. She looked at the sleeping form next to her and smiled.

"Thank you for keeping your promise, Anna."

* * *

**A/N: Hi, me again. I just wanted to add a little bit more because there was so much more begging to come out. I hope you guys enjoyed!**

**There is a lot more to come and it's only just begun.**


	3. The Burning Carousel

**A/N: Sorry for the delay, busy week with holiday stuff and all. Here is some more background and explanation on Anna/Elsa's childhood. Hope I did them some justice!**

**For clarification on their age, I've kept their canon birthdays. They are 2.5 years apart in this fic.  
Anna: June 21  
Elsa: December 21**

**Hope you all have a nice Christmas and overall week. Enjoy, dearies. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Burning Carousel**

* * *

Anna had vowed to always be Elsa's friend, but it didn't mean they were automatically the best of friends. In fact, they were still pretty much strangers since they didn't know a thing about each other—other than their obvious love for chocolate. Before Elsa wanted to be her friend, Anna had none and she was just as lonely as Elsa was.

Anna was only five years old when she began kindergarten, but she was already exceptionally gifted and talented. She had taught herself to read when she was three and she even learned how to use search engines when she got curious about something. She didn't know **_that_** much, but she still learned a decent amount of things through research. Her parents, Kai and Gerda Summers, were always fascinated with how much she loved to learn. After a month in school, her teacher had suggested that she move up a couple of grades because she was seemingly bored and she would be more interested in a challenge. Her parents let her decide whether or not she wanted to be with the older kids and she thought it was a good idea because she did like a challenge after all.

She didn't realize how wrong she was. Being the youngest in the class, she was often bullied because she was a "baby" to them. Nobody wanted to talk to her or associate with her because they felt their own pride flying out the window when someone much younger was doing the same work as them with **ease** and _envy_ replaced that pride. They would often tell her to go back to the other "kiddies" or "babies" because she would sometimes play with her dolls during their breaks. The problem was that she wasn't the only person who played with dolls and she knew it—she knew they were all lying because they didn't like her and that hurt the most. She didn't want to tell her parents that she wanted to go back to kindergarten because it made her feel like the baby they believed her to be and she didn't want to bother them when she chose to be here.

Elsa was in the same grade as Anna but not in the same class. She had often seen Anna alone during recess, but only for a brief moment before she turned to her own isolation. She had her fair share of bullies that frequently commented on how weird she was and sometimes even asked why she was so quiet because being quiet was just _such_ a crime. It still amused her to this day why people found that so unethical, but as a child, she felt mortified and ashamed. She ignored everyone—with the exception of her parents and authority figures—but it hindered the bullying none.

Elsa was selective of who she spoke to, though she didn't really care to speak to anyone at all. But she couldn't very well ignore the adults, could she? After all, these were the people who were taking care of her in and out of school. It wasn't their fault that the children she spent five out of the seven days with were judgmental and harsh and fed her fears to her on a silver platter. She believed everything about herself to be on the negative end of the social spectrum. She just didn't feel adequate enough for anything at all, regardless of what the adults would tell her. She would scoff at any compliments thrown her way or when they told her that everything would be okay.

_You're adults... how would _you_ know what it's like?_ she repeatedly thought. What could they possibly know about a seven-year-old girl's feelings and the way her cruel peers treated her? It was laughable.

_Nobody understands me... I don't belong here._

* * *

Anna could never stop telling herself how lucky she was to have met Elsa. Elsa was her new beginning and she was the answer to all of her problems. She gave Anna hope, faith, and... something (or _someone_) to look forward to. Anna always wanted an older sister because despite how smart she was, she was actually quite lazy. Add in her loneliness and her need for someone to understand her, who could blame her for wanting company? A five-year-old girl who went through what she did deserved all the company she wanted.

The weeks following their new friendship resulted in the occasional greeting outside of their houses and eventually leading up to Anna approaching Elsa at school.

_Gosh, I hope Elsa likes me... She probably thinks I'm a big baby or annoying..._

"H-Hi." Anna waved.

Elsa looked up from whatever she was reading and frowned at the ginger. "A-Anna, w-what are you doing here?"

"I saw you and I just wanted to say hi because we're friends." Anna gave a shy smile.

"W-What about y-your other f-friends?"

"I don't have any."

Elsa blinked twice in disbelief. _Anna didn't have any friends?_

"But you're my friend, so I guess I have **_one _**now." Anna corrected herself and giggled.

Elsa laughed at the fact and patted the spot next to her. Anna happily obliged and looked over at Elsa's book.

"Do you always read?" she inquired.

"N-No, sometimes I-I like to draw or p-play on the swings." Elsa fiddled with her hands and looked away from Anna. She wasn't good at social interactions nor welcomed them since they were usually mean, but she let Anna in. Anna was an exception and she didn't know why.

"How come you're alone, Elsa? Where are your friends?" Anna tilted her head and stared innocently at the older girl.

"I-I don't have any..." Elsa admitted.

Anna's mouth hung wide open and she brought a hand to her mouth to cover her gasp. "What? But you're so nice. How can you not have any friends?"

Elsa didn't know whether or not she should inform Anna of her bullies because she didn't want to appear weak, so she said whatever came to her mind first. "I-I guess I don't r-really care about t-that."

She averted her gaze from Anna. Well, she wasn't exactly lying. She didn't care about being _alone_, but she did care about the sneers and whispers.

"What about me?" Elsa looked up again at the little girl and mulled over how to answer her question because she herself had no clue. Did she care about Anna? Or did she just pity her? She didn't understand and it aggravated her.

"Y-You're special," she gulped and gave a weak smile. She didn't even know what to believe anymore and just spewed any nonsense that presented itself in her mind.

"Thank you, Elsa. I think you're very special, too!" Anna beamed and gave Elsa a sudden hug.

Elsa, still gripping her book in her right hand, gasped loudly, unsure if she should return the gesture and wondering what it meant. She slowly and tentatively placed her hands on Anna's back before placing them over each other. She immediately whimpered the moment she felt Anna's body shift.

"We should hang out more!" Anna suggested.

"I-I'd like that." Elsa smiled.

"You give warm hugs, Elsa. I like that."

"O-Oh...I didn't know that."

"And you're very pretty!" Anna said, a little loud, making Elsa jump back a little.

_Anna thinks I'm pretty? No way..._

"T-Thank you, A-Anna. You're prettier, t-though." Elsa quivered.

She didn't know what to say. Anna made her flustered and that feeling was foreign to her. What did it mean? She had never been complimented by anyone other than the adults and she wanted nothing to do with them. Coming from Anna... warmth radiated inside of her and she had a hint of pink on her cheeks.

"Nah, you're the prettiest, Elsa. Definitely!" Anna giggled. Elsa's blush deepened.

"Ah... Well... Um... I-I..." she stuttered.

The two just stared at each other for a while. Anna basked in the sunlight, producing a radiant look as she smiled at Elsa. _She's adorable_. Elsa felt herself smiling back and before either one of them could say anything, the bell rang, indicating their time was up.

"See you later, Elsa!" Anna exclaimed before engulfing her in another hug and running off to class.

Elsa stood, dumbfounded. Unbeknownst to her, Anna felt exactly the same way she did. They were both new to this whole friend thing, after all.

* * *

There was a carnival that was in town for a few weeks. All the kids at school were talking about it because they all dreamed of going to one. Anna's parents decided to bring her to the carnival since she was _dying_ to go and being the little spitfire that she was, she invited Elsa. Elsa tried to worm her way out of it by saying that she had to spend time with her parents, but her excuse backfired when they overheard her and said it was fine for her to go hang out with a friend. If that didn't work, then the little redhead's pouting did the job. How could she say no?

"O-Okay... I-I guess I can go..." Elsa shrugged, throwing her hands up in defeat.

"Yay, yay, yay! We're going to have so much fun!" Anna jumped excitedly and dragged Elsa over to her family's car.

"Have fun, girls!" Agdar and Idunn waved.

"I'm glad Elsa's finally got a friend." Agdar sighed, knowing full well of his introverted daughter.

"The same could be said for Anna. We know she hasn't exactly had an easy time with the other kids, but she's a fighter, that one." Kai smiled. "Enjoy your evening, you two."

"Thanks, Kai. You'd better go before Anna gets impatient." Agdar laughed and nodded towards the car before walking back into the house with his wife.

Kai went to the car, joining his wife and the two eager girls.

It was late in the afternoon so the sun was still out; Anna was grateful. She was never that good with the dark. It was inevitable, but she wasn't alone and that would help ease her fear.

Elsa, not too keen on the darkness herself, wondered what to expect from the carnival. She had seen pictures of them and was fascinated with how many things one could do at a carnival. There were games, rides, food—there was so much! She didn't know just how much of a ride she was in for with Anna. The blonde looked over at the redhead, and as if on cue, Anna looked back and grinned.

"You're going to love the carnival, Elsa. We can ride a merry-go-round, eat cotton candy, and go on the spinning teacups!"

"Spinning teacups?" Elsa quirked her eyebrows. She had never heard of anything more absurd in her life.

"Yes! It's really fun!" Anna assured.

"All right. I believe you." She smiled. This girl was taking over her emotions and she barely knew her. Elsa mentally laughed at herself. _Unbelievable._

It was a thirty-minute drive to the carnival and Anna decided to play "I spy" with her parents and Elsa. Anna wasn't as creative as Elsa with her choices, though. The adults could barely process most of the objects around them as they were too occupied with the joy they felt as the girls were clearly having fun together, so they gave up at some point. Half of the time, Elsa found Anna just listing things that were inside the car, rather than outside of it. She smirked, coming up with something she thought Anna wouldn't find out.

"I spy with my little eye...something that makes me warm."

Anna raised both her hands in the air as if she was just picked on in class. "Ooh, I know! Is it the sun?"

Elsa shook her head.

Anna frowned. "Hmm.. is it the heater?"

Elsa giggled, knowing she was going to say that and shook her head again.

"What could make you warm... Oh, right! Your sweater!"

And for the third time, Elsa shook her head, unable to hide her goofy grin.

"Ah, I give up!" Anna threw her hands up in surrender, pouting that famous pout of hers. "What is it?"

"It's you."

"M-Me? I make you warm?" Anna blushed.

Elsa blushed in return, realizing how serious it sounded out loud. "W-When you h-hugged me."

"You're so smart, Elsa! I would have never thought of that."

"Y-You're smart, too, A-Anna!"

Kai and Gerda heard everything and couldn't be happier. The girls were getting along so well. The Summers and Winters knew that their girls lead lonely lives and they didn't know what to do since the girls put on brave fronts whenever they were home. Now they found each other and it was starting to look like a promising friendship.

* * *

When they arrived at the carnival, Anna squealed like the little girl she was and couldn't contain her excitement any longer. Elsa couldn't fathom the reason why the spunky redhead was so excited until she could experience it herself firsthand. She'd always wanted to go to a carnival, but the crowds terrified her. Tonight was not an exception. There were kids everywhere and Elsa swore she saw some familiar faces among the crowd. Anna glared at some of her previous tormentors, but shrugged the thought off because tonight was about her and Elsa having fun!

She grabbed Elsa's hand and intertwined their fingers so she could have a better grip. "Come on, Elsa! What do you want to do first?"

_She's asking me what _I _want to do? I don't even know what to do..._

Then Elsa remembered what Anna had said earlier and giggled. "L-Let's go to t-the... spinning teacups?"

Anna nodded and used her free hand to grab her father's hand so they could follow the girls.

As they approached the ride, Elsa noticed that there were indeed spinning teacups. Honestly, she wasn't sure what she was expecting, but it was still surprising that it was exactly as said. Spinning. Teacups.

_This is crazy!_

When the round was over and the teacups stopped spinning, Anna took Elsa over to a white cup with pink hearts embellished on the outside. Kai and Gerda stepped into a cup right next to the girls so they could keep an eye on them.

"Here, hold onto the wheel." Anna said as she guided Elsa's hands to the centerpiece.

Elsa frowned in response, unsure why she had to do that. The teacups started to go in motion and it was so sudden that Elsa fell back a little. _Well, duh, that's why. _The speed increased as Anna turned the wheel and motioned for Elsa to do the same. Soon enough, she adjusted to the pace of the moving cup and looked over at Anna's parents laughing with one another. She smiled at the genuine display of happiness on all of the customers' faces, including Anna's—**_especially_** Anna's. That girl could probably kill you with the amount of joy she had. The ride only lasted for about two minutes, much to Elsa's dismay.

"Ah, I'm dizzy!" Anna wobbled out of the cup and stumbled into Elsa. "Sorry."

"It's okay. What do you want to do now?" Elsa grinned.

"Actually, I'm kind of hungry! Mama, Papa!" She yelled.

Kai had taken a seat at a random table in the food court since he was prone to dizziness as well while Gerda took the girls to some concession stands. Elsa had never really eaten the foods that were available there: pizza, hot dogs, nachos, pretzels... you name it. She never really had an affinity for junk food at all since she was accustomed to eating healthy at home. She didn't even eat school food. Anna persuaded her to try the pizza since "it was the best thing ever" and a churro because you couldn't just go to a carnival without having a churro! The pizza wasn't as greasy as most places made them, but Elsa was still skeptical of what she was about to put into her body, fearing it would make her sick.

"Come on, Elsa! You'll love it!" Anna asserted.

Elsa nodded and took her first bite of the pizza. She shut her eyes and chewed. Blue eyes abruptly opened. "This is... really good!"

"I can't believe you've never had pizza!" Anna frowned, unable to imagine a life without pizza.

"My parents never really eat these kind of things so I don't really either." She commented.

"Well, at least now you can try! You'll love the churro, too. I know it." Anna winked as she bit into her own pizza.

When they finished their pizza, Anna held up two churros and handed one to Elsa.

Elsa inspected the fried-dough pastry. She had never seen anything like it before. She knew what chocolate was. She knew what ice cream was. She had seen brownies, cookies, and doughnuts before. But this was something completely out of the ordinary. It was ridged and had a ton of sugar on it. Seeing Anna already taking her first bite, Elsa hesitantly took hers. _Hmm, not bad._

"I like it," she stated.

"Here, try it with some of this." Anna handed her a small container of chocolate sauce.

"Is that... chocolate?"

"You bet!"

Tonight was just full of surprises for Elsa. She absolutely loved chocolate and had no idea it could be combined with this new, sugary confection. She dipped the churro into the chocolate and brought it to her lips eagerly. She hummed her delight in response and Anna knew it all too well since she made the same noise.

After the group of four were done eating, they decided to play some games and ride on the smaller rides first. Anna managed to get a balloon in a tossing game. She had a good arm, but a lot of games were pretty rigged from the looks of it and she only managed to get two out of three. The guy was kind enough to give her a balloon since he wasn't supposed to give her anything at all. Cheap, right? She huffed in disappointment. Elsa, on the other hand, managed to earn a small stuffed animal in a fishing game. She noticed Anna's obvious upset and asked her which animal she would like.

Anna gasped at what Elsa was insinuating. "No, Elsa! You won it, fair and square."

"It's okay. I would rather give it to you since I don't really want it." Elsa smiled because she was telling the truth. She really didn't care about having a toy and it would've brought more joy to Anna than to her.

"A-Are you sure, Elsa?" Anna stammered.

"Yes, Anna. Pick whatever you like." Elsa reassured the younger girl by placing a hand on her shoulder.

Anna pointed to a white bunny and the game operator brought it down for her.

"Here you go, little girl." He smiled and placed the bunny in her hands.

"Thank you, Elsa... This is the best gift ever." Anna cried.

Elsa's eyes widened in shock. Anna was thanking her, but why was she crying? As if reading her mind, Gerda placed a hand on Elsa's shoulder.

"Sometimes people cry when they're happy. They're tears of joy, dear."

Elsa pursed her lips and nodded, absorbing this information. This was news to her. She had only ever known tears of sadness.

Suddenly, the sun was setting and the girls' common fear was coming out. Anna, however, completely forgot about her fear at the moment and took Elsa's shaking hands into her own.

"It's okay, Elsa. You're not alone." Anna said seriously. "Want to ride the Ferris wheel?"

Elsa grinned and nodded fervently. There were two things Elsa wanted to do most at a carnival: ride a Ferris wheel and ride a carousel.

There was a large Ferris wheel and a much smaller one for those who couldn't stomach the height of the former. The larger one had a beautiful rainbow illuminating its outer rim with swirling red lines on the inside. The small one paled in comparison with its size, but its design was just as enthralling. Instead of swirling red lines, the shape of a snowflake displayed itself over the wheel. Everything about the smaller wheel screamed blue, whether it was the baby blue outline of the wheel, the cerulean seats, or the periwinkle snowflake. The girls were absolutely mesmerized by the obvious winter presented by this kid version of the Ferris wheel.

They settled into a two-seater for the winter wheel as Kai and Gerda watched from below since Kai was still feeling nauseous from the earlier rides. They sat across from each other rather than side by side, which forced them to look at each other the whole duration of the ride. They sat in silence because they didn't know what to say. They were strangers, yet they felt like they were the best of friends. The ride ended and they finally got out at the bottom. It was getting late and they had pretty much explored the whole carnival as best as they could.

There was just one thing left to do and there it was, the final ride.

A red carousel with glowing lights, a couple of bench-like seats, and a lot of wooden horses. Elsa chose a white steed as Anna chose the brown one right beside it. Kai and Gerda had to help the girls up since they weren't tall enough to hop up on their own before settling down at a nearby bench. As the merry-go-round came to life, the horses galloped up and down, and Anna held on really tight to the pole securing her house. Elsa noticed this and put out one hand for Anna.

Anna looked to Elsa questioningly, who simply nodded in return. Anna took her hand and they looked forward—_figuratively and literally._

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the slow start, and I'm sure you're all anxious for the real Elsanna fluff (and maybe ****_other _****things...) but we'll get there in due time, don't worry. I'm not going to go through every single year of their lives, there will be just a few more chapters outlining the past 11 years. Elsa and Anna may not exactly fit the canon-verse or whatever people typically expect, but this is how I'm going to write them out for now. Elsa doesn't always stutter—mostly when she's anxious or nervous. As you may have noticed, she doesn't stutter when she gets very comfortable around Anna. I'm very thrilled for what I have in store and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do. If there are some mistakes, please feel free to tell me. Hopefully, this is enough for now. Until next time, dearest Elsanna fans.**


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